Level 2 ASPs


Level 2 ASPs install overhead or underground service lines between the electrical wiring on a Connection Applicant’s premise and the electricity network. This includes connecting service lines to the network and making the connection live.

  • Proactive discussions, engagement and insights from Level 2 Accredited Service Providers;
  • Critical information updates; and
  • Other useful and relevant information.

If you need further information or support, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au


Level 2 ASPs install overhead or underground service lines between the electrical wiring on a Connection Applicant’s premise and the electricity network. This includes connecting service lines to the network and making the connection live.

  • Proactive discussions, engagement and insights from Level 2 Accredited Service Providers;
  • Critical information updates; and
  • Other useful and relevant information.

If you need further information or support, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Connection Application Delays

    What is Happening?

    Unfortunately, system issues with submission of connection applications and enquiries in the new Essential Connections Portal have resulted in delays in processing applications.

    At the moment, the average time to process an application is approximately 15 to 20 days.

    We apologise and ask for your patience as we put plans in place to resolve system issues and onboard additional staff to reduce the backlog and process your requests within our standard target of 10 days.

    To assist in getting an application completed, please ensure you have filled out the application accurately and all required documents are uploaded.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Make sure your application is filled in with actuate information and you have attached all the required documents
    2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation and your clients.
    3. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    New Essential Connections portal for submitting Low Voltage enquiries and applications

    What is Happening?

    Essential Energy is working to improve customer experiences across the end-to-end connections process by upgrading technology and improving processes. Improvements include the new Essential Connections self-service portal, which will be live from Monday 6 June 2022.

    All Low Voltage (LV) connection enquiries and applications are to be created and submitted through the new portal from Monday 6 June 2022.

    All High Voltage (HV) enquiries, applications, design, construction, testing and quality assurance processes will be transitioned to Essential Connections in future phases of the project.

    Changes from the current Low Voltage enquiry and application forms

    The new Essential Connections portal will be your one-stop-shop for all your enquiries and applications.

    The portal will automate many manual processes. It will also integrate with other systems to provide data from organisations such as Spatial Services NSW (address validation and auto-population of lot/DP) and the Clean Energy Council (inverter and battery lists) to help you complete your applications.

    Other exciting changes coming with the release of Essential Connections include:

    • new and more targeted application categories, such as load only, generation only, load and generation, temporary builders supply, unmetered supply and asset relocation
    • email/SMS notifications for job progress (no more calling Essential Energy for updates)
    • electronic signature for Connection Offer acceptance (no more printing and signing)
    • standard connections are automatically approved
    • easy-to-use online payment gateway for upfront payments
    • knowledge articles on the Essential Energy website to help you use and understand the new portal.

    Getting ready for Monday 6 June 2022

    Read only access to Connections web portal from Wednesday 1 June to Monday 6 June (no applications can be submitted from midday Wednesday 1 June).

    From midday Wednesday 1 June, connection enquiries and applications will no longer be submitted via the Connections web portal, while we switch over to the new Essential Connections portal, which is scheduled to be released on Monday 6 June.

    Registered users will still be able to log in with read only access to view applications previously submitted.

    Activating your Essential Connections account for Level 1 & 2 ASPs and ECs (Level 3 ASPs will use that same access as the BetterConnect portal)

    Before you can access the Essential Connections portal and submit enquiries and applications, you will need to activate your account.

    On Sunday 5 June, you will receive a welcome email from our secure access management provider OKTA with a link through to the essential connections portal

    Note: Solar Retailers need to self-register via the Essential Energy website to use the new Essential Connections portal. Registration will be available on Monday 6 June.

    Introduction of fees and upfront payment

    The Essential Connections portal enables Essential Energy to charge for Ancillary Network Services (ANS) fees, as required by the Australian Energy Regulator. Up until now, we have not charged for some of these fees, as our systems did not support such charging. To find out more, read introduction of new fees and upfront payment on Essential Engagement.

    We previously communicated that ANS fees and upfront payment were scheduled to be charged from Monday 16 May. The new date is 6 June, to align with the release of the Essential Connections portal.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Review the above, watch the video by click on Essential Connections Portal preview and look out for your activation email on 5 June 2022.
    2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    AER approved price increases for Ancillary Network Services from 1 July 2022

    What is happening?

    The AER has approved Essential Energy’s new regulatory charges for Ancillary Network Services from 1 July 2022.

    As an Accredited Service Provider (ASP), Authorised Person (AUP) or Electrical Contractor (EC), please use the new charges applicable to the services you provide when preparing quotations for work to be undertaken after 30 June 2022.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Review the 2022-23 Pricing Schedules for Ancillary Network Services available on the Essential Energy website.
    2. Accredited Service Providers, Authorised Persons and Electrical Contractors should consider pricing changes when preparing quotations for customers regarding future work.
    3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
    4. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

    Further information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    New Essential Connections portal for submitting Low Voltage enquiries and applications delayed

    supporting image

    What is Happening?

    The first release of the Essential Connections portal for Low Voltage (LV) enquiries and applications, scheduled for Monday 16 Monday, has been delayed.

    Due to unforeseen technical issues outside of Essential Energy’s control we will not be able to release the new portal on 16 May as planned.

    Please continue to submit all LV connection enquiries and applications through the existing enquiry and connections portals available on the Connecting to the Network page on our website.

    It is expected at this stage that the release of the portal will be delayed until June 2022

    We will keep you informed and will be able to share more accurate information on the revised date in the coming weeks.

    Introduction of fees and upfront payment

    We previously communicated that the introduction of Ancillary Network Services (ANS) fees and upfront payments were scheduled to be charged from Monday 16 May. These fees will also be delayed to align with the release of the new Essential Connections portal.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    New Essential Connections portal for submitting Low Voltage enquiries and applications coming soon

    supporting image

    What is Happening?

    Essential Energy is working to improve customer experiences across the end-to-end connections process by upgrading technology and improving processes. Improvements include the new Essential Connections self-service portal, which we are targeting for Monday,16 May 2022.

    All Low Voltage (LV) connection enquiries and applications are to be created and submitted through the new portal from 16 May 2022.

    All High Voltage (HV) enquiries, applications, design, construction, testing and quality assurance processes will be transitioned to Essential Connections in future phases of the project.

    Changes from the current Low Voltage enquiry and application forms

    The new Essential Connections portal will be your one-stop-shop for all your enquiries and applications.

    The portal will automate many manual processes. It will also integrate with other systems to provide data from organisations such as Spatial Services NSW (address validation and auto-population of lot/DP) and the Clean Energy Council (inverter and battery lists) to help you complete your applications.

    Other exciting changes coming with the release of Essential Connections include:

    • new and more targeted application categories, such as load only, generation only, load and generation, temporary builders supply, unmetered supply and asset relocation
    • email/SMS notifications for job progress (no more calling Essential Energy for updates)
    • electronic signature for Connection Offer acceptance (no more printing and signing)
    • standard connections are automatically approved
    • easy-to-use online payment gateway for upfront payments
    • knowledge articles on the Essential Energy website to help you use and understand the new portal.

    Getting ready for 16 May 2022

    Read only access to Connections web portal from 11 May to 16 May (no applications can be submitted)

    From midday 11 May, connection enquiries and applications will no longer be submitted via the Connections web portal, while we switch over to the new Essential Connections portal, which is scheduled to be released on 16 May.

    Registered users will still be able to log in with read only access to view applications previously submitted.

    Activating your Essential Connections account for Level 1 & 2 ASPs and ECs (Level 3 ASPs will use that same access as the BetterConnect portal)

    Before you can access the Essential Connections portal and submit enquiries and applications, you will need to activate your account.

    On Sunday 15 May, you will receive a welcome email from our secure access management provider OKTA with a link through to the essential connections portal

    Note: Solar Retailers need to self-register via the Essential Energy website to use the new Essential Connections portal. Registration will be available on 16 May.

    Introduction of fees and upfront payment

    The Essential Connections portal enables Essential Energy to charge for Ancillary Network Services (ANS) fees, as required by the Australian Energy Regulator. Up until now, we have not charged for some of these fees, as our systems did not support such charging. To find out more, read introduction of new fees and upfront payment on Essential Engagement.

    We previously communicated that ANS fees and upfront payment were scheduled to be charged from Monday 2 May. The new date is 16 May, to align with the release of the Essential Connections portal.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Review the above, watch the video by click on Essential Connections Portal preview and look out for your activation email on 15th May 2022.
    2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Essential Connections Portal update

    What is Happening?

    Our new Essential Connections self-service portal – the latest stage of our end-to-end connections process improvements – will go live soon. We are working through several activities to get everyone ready and plan to commence transition to the new portal in the first week of May.

    When we go live, you will be able to create and submit all low voltage (LV) connection enquiries and applications through the new portal.

    All High Voltage (HV) connection enquires, applications, design, construction, testing and quality assurance processes will be transitioned to Essential Connections in future stages of the project.

    See image below for stages of the Essential Connections rollout:

    What is changing?

    As we deliver new enhancements, many of our manual processes will be automated through Essential Connections. The self-service portal will ensure that:

    • Information only needs to be submitted once
    • Jobs are accessible in one system
    • Requests can be submitted electronically (using different device types)
    • Email and SMS notifications will alert you when you need to do something, such as provide additional information or accept a connection offer.

    What are the benefits?

    • Visibility of all your jobs within one portal
    • Electronic signature for Connection Offer acceptance
    • Easy-to-use online payment gateway for upfront payments
    • Proactive notifications for job progress (no more calling Essential Energy for updates)
    • Updated information and knowledge articles available on the Essential Energy website to help you use the new portal.

    Activating your Essential Connections account

    Before you can access Essential Connections and submit enquiries and applications, you will need to activate your account. We will share more detailed information on activating your account in our next communication.

    Introduction of fees and upfront payment

    The Essential Connections portal enables Essential Energy to charge for Ancillary Network Services fees as required by the Australian Energy Regulator. Until now, we have not charged for some of these fees, as our systems did not support such charging. To find out more, visit Essential Engagement.

    When will you hear from us next?

    We will update you with further information on the status of how we are progressing with the transition plan of Essential Connections and activating your account in our next communication on 26 April.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

    Further Information

    For further information about the Essential Connections portal, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Register for Essential Energy ASP Zoom forums: April 2022

    supporting image

    What is happening?

    To protect everyone’s health and safety, we’ll hold our next round of ASP engagement forums via Zoom, rather than face to face.

    In this round, we’ll be covering a range of topics including Safety, Standards update, Digital Twin update, our BetterConnect project and Connections Changes, and Supply Chain update.

    We encourage you to participate in these forums. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss our plans and initiatives, and to ask questions or raise issues with Essential Energy team members.

    Dates and times

    Click on one of the options below to reserve your preferred session (all sessions will have the same content).

    A confirmation email will be sent to you with the Zoom meeting details once you have registered.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Select the session date above and reserve your spot to attend one of our forums.
    2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
    3. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Bushfire rebate conclusion

    What is Happening?

    As per Briefing – Connections for Bushfire-Affected Customers, the two-year period to claim this reimbursement has closed.

    Reimbursement will apply for any current connection applications but will not apply for any new jobs submitted after Wednesday, 6 April 2022.

    Please submit any final claims by Wednesday, 6 April 2022.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Introduction of new fees and upfront payment

    What is Happening?

    Essential Energy will be introducing fees for some Low Voltage Connection Applications. From 2 May 2022, new charges will be applied to certain services where we are required by Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to charge for these services. These charges include:

    • Fees for connection enquiries based on the estimated effort to complete (noting not all enquiries will be charged a fee)
    • Additional fees to some connection applications where detailed engineering assessments (1% of applications) or power quality studies are required (0.1% of all applications a year)
    • Incomplete information fee applied to applications that are submitted without the required information or attachments/supporting information included.
    • We are continuing the transition to upfront payments of high volume and low value ANS charges.

    The fees can be found in the table below:


    The above table of Ancillary Network Service and Amounts are as per the Price Schedule for Ancillary Network Services 1 July 2021. These Network Service changes will move to upfront payment via the secure online payment gateway. 

    “User Pays” Principle

    These fees cover the costs of services that we already provide and are expected to charge for under our agreement with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). 

    Under the Regulatory Framework, we need to recover those costs from the specific customers requiring the service.  

    What do you need to do?

    1. Accredited Service Providers, Authorised Persons and Electrical Contractors should consider pricing changes when preparing quotations for customers regarding future work.
    2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation. 

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Reimbursement for reconnection – flood impacted customers North Coast

    What is Happening?

    Essential Energy continues to work hand in hand with many ASPs across the flood impacted North Coast, repairing the significantly damaged electricity network and reconnecting power for customers whose properties were inundated with flood water.

    The process for customers for reconnection involves three-steps.

    1. Arrange for either a licensed electrician or Level 2 Authorised Service Provider (ASP) to inspect property to make sure it is safe.
    2. When the inspection is completed, the electrician will log a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) and provide the customer with a CCEW reference number.
    3. Call Essential Energy on 13 20 80 to have your power restored.

    Where a customer engaged Level 2 ASP performs the reconnection process, they charge the customer for this service. As Essential Energy is waiving the reconnection fee where we perform this service, and to ensure that all customers are treated equally, Essential Energy has offered to reimburse customers who are reconnected by an ASP up to $350 for that reconnection.

    Given the trying conditions our customers are facing, Essential Energy will now streamline this process and pay Level 2 ASPs directly for reconnection on behalf of a flood-affected customer once they have completed the reconnection.

    How do I arrange payment for customer reconnection work?

    Once inspection and the necessary repairs to a premises’ switchboard and internal wiring has occurred, a CCEW provided and reconnection completed by a Level 2 ASP, the following process can be followed for payment:

    Submit to Essential Energy via emailing connection.enquiries@essentialenergy.com.au

    • An itemised invoice for the reconnection process.
    • Copy of the Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work.
    • Copy of the Notice of Service Works (NOSW) when reconnection at Essential Energy service main.
    • Completed new vendor information form.

    This process needs to be followed for every individual NMI. There will be one reimbursement for each NMI.

    For clarity there are circumstances where ASPs will not receive a payment for each individual unit/complex as there is only 1 NMI connection to Essential Energy network for these sites. Examples of where there is only one reconnection to the network for the below and 1 claim for reimbursement up to $350 are:

    • Residential unit complexes
    • Caravan parks with private metering
    • Commercial complexes with multiple units
    • Industrial complexes with multiple units

    It is important to note that Essential Energy is funding the cost of reconnection up to $350, and any repairs to the customer’s electrical installation will not be reimbursed. Essential Energy has processes in place to ensure that claims for reconnection costs are not paid where Essential Energy has performed the reconnection.

    The Customer Contact Centre will provide a Case Number by return email. Please keep this number as your reference.

    The reimbursement will be provided by direct credit to your nominated bank account.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
    2. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

    Further Information

    If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Page last updated: 26 Mar 2024, 12:36 PM